I worked for RCI for a dozen years. On the 'mid sized' ships, we had 3 people. the larger (Freedom and Oasis class) there might be 4? I'd say 1 out of every 5 or 6 IT people were from the US. UK, India and eastern Europe are the norm. Tattoos on that line are OK (non-offensive, saw a lot of arms, legs and a bit of hands, back of neck).

The IT peeps do work some LONG hours - be prepared NEVER to get off on a turnaround day (keeping guest check in at the terminal going smoothly). Sea days are busy due to shops/bars POS machine issues. As far as shore leave - there is always a 'duty guy' left on the ship, not an issue when you have a bigger team. RCI IT people who are not the manager will be sharing. BUT - they are going to be nicer, outside cabins.

Here are some links for you - as far as breaking in, google every cruise line and look for their 'careers' site - also look at sites like monster or indeed.com.